Athens was our quick stop-over, to meet up with Ricki-Leigh and Dylan arriving via Istanbul on our way to the islands of Paros and Santorini.
We only arrived at our hotel at 6am - after taking a bus from the airport and then the first metro (which we shared with a crowd of young people coming back from an evening out at the clubs and the first people going off to work).
On arriving at our room in th guesthouse, we immidiately noticed the difference between Greece and Spain. Accommodation in Spain is just better and cheaper. Luckily the small shared bathroom was not a problem during our stay. After a few hours sleep we went to get some coffee and thought that we may meet Ricki-Leigh and Dylan along the way ...and there they were looking thoroughly confused as to which way to go to find the guesthouse ! Lynn (Clint's sister) and Keith had been on the same flight ( just by chance) as Ricki and Dylan , and as they had several hours to kill before their next flight to an Ionian Island, we sat in a taverna chatting for most of the day. Once they had left, and Ricki and Dylan had caught up on some sleep, we went for a walk to Plaka and the Acropolis. Plaka has been gentrified and upgraded for the tourists - does not seem quite as authentic as we remember it from 30 years ago. Seeing the Acropolis all lit up is quite amazing though.
In comparison to Barcelona, Athens looks neglected, run-down, dirty and filled with ugly buildings. Not at all inviting. After having become used to the friendly and welcoming manner experienced in Spain, the gruff and disinterested mannerism of the Greeks came as a bit of a shock to the system.
The following morning we were collected at 6am by a taxi for our transfer to the Port for the ferry to Paros. We did not think that all our luggage would fit into the boot - but the interesting net, that is connected to the open bootlid makes the boot of the car rather expandable !
The ferry ride to Paros was great ! I had taken sea-sickness tablets just in case (I get sea-sick just looking at the sea !) - but think that I would have been fine without them. The ferries must have amazing stabilisers. Although we had booked seats inside (which Dylan used to sleep, as he had arrived suffering with flu !), we spent most of our time sitting outside on the deck in the sun. Beginning of the Greek island holiday !